Do husker fans today have lower expectations?

What always baffles me is people who were/are simply happy with 'how many wins' Nebraska has versus the quality of those wins and for that matter the quality or lack thereof of the losses too.

That's where it's at for me. Who are we actually beating or getting beaten by???

 
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Can't get blood out of a turnip.

There is desire and then there is expectation. One of these needs to be tempered by reality.

I desire for the team to return to relevance, dominate line play, play a tougher brand of football, win the conference most years and to be a player on the national stage. Desire can ignore what may be possible. But are those things my expectation? Not currently because I am not stupid and I'm not ignoring the myriad of factors that are preventing it from being realized. Doesn't mean we can't strive for that but since nobody from the athletic office is calling and asking for my input, I'll just enjoy what I can and b!^@h about the rest of it.

 
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So maybe the question is what would have to happen for Nebraska to be good again. I agree we need to not just measure it by wins and losses but also by who we beat and how we win. While in recent history we have had 9 wins almost every season, it seems we have barely escaped defeat against lackluster teams (think Mcneese state and northwestern or losses to pursue and illinois and we barely won those last year).

I have heard countless times how recruiting is the missing piece and how great Riley is doing in recruiting but Callahan had top classes (though some fizzled) and Riley classes aren't near that of Ohio State Michigan or Penn state.

If it is coaching, would Nebraska ever be willing to spend the money it takes to get a big name coach? I grow tired of hearing how no coach would consider coaching for Nebraska (while we may never get saban, meyer, fisher, harbaugh, or sweeney). For many coaches it cones down to what amount we are willing to pay. I am not kicking Riley out yet but I can't imagine him being our coach in another 10 years.

Is it an administration problem? Bo had plenty of issues but I never felt he was given a lot of support by eichorst.

Speaking of eichorst, what is he getting paid so much for? Our athletics have declined if anything since he took over and he is I believe the 5th highest paid ad. If he wants to spend his time looking into recruiting regulations and such maybe he should petition for a conference commissioner job. For AD we need someone that is going to fight to ensure Nebraska has a competitive athletic program.

 
suh_fan93 said:
What always baffles me is people who were/are simply happy with 'how many wins' Nebraska has versus the quality of those wins and for that matter the quality or lack thereof of the losses too.

That's where it's at for me. Who are we actually beating or getting beaten by???
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I somewhat agree with that. The Bo years weren't great, because the team constantly failed in big games. However, if NU is able to pull off a big win against Ohio State or Penn State on the road this year, that win doesn't mean much if it loses to Northwestern at home or against Illinois and Purdue.

To me, the first step for becoming a good team is winning all the games that the team "should win". Bo was good at that, but he couldn't take the team to the next level. In the first year, Riley didn't win all the games that NU "should win". The team did a better job of doing that last year, but failed miserably against any team that was a true challenge, especially getting blown out by Ohio State, Iowa, and Tennessee.

 
Debate of these same questions and issues has already filled thousands of pages on this board. I don't expect it to stop but there is limitless discussion already logged on these very pages for anyone who is inclined to sift through them.

 
in 1995 I thought we'd probably win the national championship.

This year I think there's a tiny little chance we win the national championship.

So ya, my expectations are lower. That said, every season until we have 2 losses, I always think about our prospects of winning the national championship. I'm still excited at the beginning of every season.

And I'm not unrealistic enough to expect every coach who's capable of winning a national championship (or even a conference championship) of being able to do it right away. Not every coach is the same. Riley might be that guy, but some people are stupid in how fast they've judged him. If he has a mediocre year the next 2 years, we'll get a new guy. Until then I will be positive. Just like I was with Bo.

 
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Many of the young guys I talk to only remember 01 Miami, and there are a lot of these youngsters around, so yeah many fans have lower expectations. Most people nowadays are more worried about CTE than the NC seems to me.

 
dvdcrr said:
Many of the young guys I talk to only remember 01 Miami, and there are a lot of these youngsters around, so yeah many fans have lower expectations. Most people nowadays are more worried about CTE than the NC seems to me.
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Big sidetrack but before they go crazy with this stuff (even though I think CTE is a huge and real concern) shouldn't they be studying incidence in the general population at the same time?

Also, as mentioned in this article, a person has to die to get their brain tested for CTE, so while 99% of players in the new study had signs of brain damage, they were the players who had family members who were suspicious that they had CTE due to their behavior or the way they died. There could be many other players still alive or who died of other causes not related to CTE who did not have it.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2017/07/the_press_is_overhyping_the_latest_study_on_cte_in_the_nfl.html

 
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HS football participation is down (at least in the areas where I coach and the schools in the area.) but I don't know how much of it has to to with head injuries as much as it has to do with how freaking long football has become. It is brutally long and some coaches really have a hard time "getting" it.

Example: 9th-12th graders where I coach at are expected to meet 4 days a week in the summer. 1 hour of on the field conditioning and plays...1 hour in the weight room.

That is all summer with the exception of two days off for the 4th and one week off before real practice starts. Then real practice is 5 days a week with games on Friday, so a 6 day commitment. Season ends...two weeks off (sort of) and back in the weight room 4 days a week and more conditioning.

It is brutal.

 
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I think for a lot of people, their view really boils down to "I've come to view mediocrity as normal. It's not that I like it, but I see mediocrity as the rule for Nebraska, and not the exception." They've internalized the suck, and made peace with it.

Still makes me sick to my stomach, though...

 
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They're lowered but that's natural given what we've seen the last 15 or so years.

We had 1 guy drafted in NFL draft in 2017. We may have no one drafted in the 2018 draft. It's hard to think we're going to be a national title contender with that dearth of upperclassmen talent.

Get a roster that has a lot of talent on it and expectations will rise along with the number of wins.

 
teachercd said:
HS football participation is down (at least in the areas where I coach and the schools in the area.) but I don't know how much of it has to to with head injuries as much as it has to do with how freaking long football has become. It is brutally long and some coaches really have a hard time "getting" it.

Example: 9th-12th graders where I coach at are expected to meet 4 days a week in the summer. 1 hour of on the field conditioning and plays...1 hour in the weight room.

That is all summer with the exception of two days off for the 4th and one week off before real practice starts. Then real practice is 5 days a week with games on Friday, so a 6 day commitment. Season ends...two weeks off (sort of) and back in the weight room 4 days a week and more conditioning.

It is brutal.
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We've done this to almost all sports. Hockey, volleyball, softball, baseball, basketball even dance. And it's sad, but that is what it takes for those who want to compete at the highest levels. When I was a kid and into high school, a person could participate in multiple sports. i.e. Football, basketball or wrestling, track then baseball. I don't see very many kids doing that anymore. If they don't focus and specialize on one sport they won't make their HS varsity team or the club team they want. I'm not sure exactly what has caused this. My guess is its the culmination of parents living vicariously through their children. Both of my kids could've continued with 2 or 3 sports but they were forced through circumstance to really focus on only one and treat another as a sideline. Granted neither had/has D1 talent but it's sad that they could not participate in all the sports they would've liked to. If you don't commit to a sport year round, chances are you won't be playing that sport for very long.

 
I think winning is great. As many said already as I've matured I enjoy a win but I don't let a loss drive me nuts.

As far as what I want from the program?

Wins of course, and to be nationally relavant (which we are - always, some years' just more so than others).

But I also want to be proud of my program. I love that we are consistant with Academic All Americans. I'm proud of the fact that for the most part we have a limited number of scandals, and what have come up are pretty minor compared with other programs. I want us to be publicized as having good men graduate from the program and they happened to also have played football. I love that we are known as a smart sports audience, and a welcoming place to watch a game. I am proud of how our coaching staff conducts itself and is known by peers.

I am grateful for the national champshionship, but was it worth it to now be waiting for that 30 For 30 that exposes all the dirty laundry?

You can talk wins and losses - but I think there's a bigger picture. I want to be undefeated and win a championship. But if we win 7 and nobody gets arrested, all are eligible to play in the bowl game, all the seniors graduate, kids get good jobs (NFL or in regular work), we continue to do great things to give back to the community I'm happy.

 
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